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Katherine Kalinoski '08 |
"My roommate is very active with the Womyn's Center," Kalinoski said. "She wanted to do the show last year but wasn't able to do so."
Through her efforts, as well as the efforts of the cast, Kalinoski was able to enrich the Wittenberg community with their performance of the play, which educates the general public about women's issues through the depiction of real-life experiences, on Feb. 16-17. In addition, the Wittenberg cast received an unexpected invitation to reach out to female inmates at the Clark County Jail with their show.
Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues, began V-Day, a "global movement" devoted to stopping violence against women worldwide. Each year schools register with the V-Day Web site to obtain a copy of the play.
Because of Ensler's devotion to the cause, she collects no royalties for the many performances staged annually. These shows act as a fundraiser to help the V-Day fund, which supports women's organizations that combat violence against women. According to the V-Day Web site, more than 2,700 of these performances – translated into more than 40 languages – took place across the world in 2006.
Though Kalinoski was excited to present The Vagina Monologues to her peers, she had no idea what a success the production would be. The two performances took place before large audiences in the Benham-Pence Student Center.
"I was shocked at how packed Wally's was," she said. "I didn't expect such a turnout, but it was great to see people interested."
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| Cast members of The Vagina Monologues. |
After the performances for the Wittenberg audience, Kalinoski was asked by Kathleen Soler, class of 2008 from Northfield, Ill., if the cast would be interested in performing at the Clark County Jail for female inmates who have been participating in a creative writing course led by three Wittenberg students.
"It was a really great performance," Kalinoski said. "The entire cast wasn't able to make it, but it was amazing to see some of these women stand up and clap during the performance."
According to Soler, the inmates have been reading Ensler's work in the creative writing class, so the performance resonated with many of them and allowed them to extend their appreciation of their bodies.
"Everyone had a very strong and a different reaction," Soler said. "It built upon the work we had been reading of Ensler's about the body. During the final monologue, which Cassandra Dunn [class of 2008 from Sunbury, Ohio] performed, the women went wild and someone pounded on the wall from outside. That was pretty cool."
Written By: Erica Strauss '08
Photo By: Robbie Gantt
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